Christmas

We headed up to Spokane for Christmas.  All I wanted was some crazy snow, but that didn't happen this year.  It's real hit or miss there.  We did enjoy the cold(er) weather and had fun with my whole family.

We went tubing...

Mt. Spokane - gotta love the tube lift.  Carson lasted 30 minutes.  Once his feet got cold, he was done.

We went rollerskating...(hands up if you remember the good ol' Jr. High days at Patteson's)

Learned that Karl is pretty talented on skates and that I did not miraculously all the sudden become good at skating.  Since the last time I skated was at age 13, I thought maybe I wasn't good at it just because I was awkward 13.  Turns out you actually have to practice or something to get good.

Played a lot of Kinect...sorry, no pictures.  I was too busy crushing the other dance crews with my mad skills.

We also all got sick...so that was fun.

Here are some cute pics of my baby girl (back at home)...

She has become obsessed with her toes and sucks them a lot (especially in the bath tub).  She is also sitting up pretty good and is quite pleased with herself.  That one is a recent development and I haven't snapped a pic yet.

Here is Carson and Chloe with the Woodard cousins before we left.  There is another boy, almost 2, but you know 2 year olds.  It was quite a feat getting what we did.

My New Favorite Activity

Around 7 pm, Chloe has been getting a little silly lately.  Carson will jump around crazy and she laughs and laughs.  Carson seems to like having an audience too.  Here is a short video.

Chloe had her 4 month check up.  She was 27 1/2 inches long and 19 lbs 2 oz.  She seems to be about the size Carson was at 6 months.  She took the shots like a champ.  We are now working our way to sleeping through the night.  We cut out one of her two middle of the nights feedings.  In a few weeks I'll probably try to do away with them completely.  I asked the doctor if she was waking up because she needed to it and if I should keep feeding her in the night.  He responded "Look at her, she doesn't NEED to be eating in the middle of the night."  Proof - check out the chunky thighs below.

Carson is taking a sports medley class.  They learn a new sport each Saturday.  It has been pretty cute.  So far his favorite has been whatever they played most recently.

Here is Chloe all bundled up while we watch Carson play.

We started Chloe on cereal and then veggies last week.  She is doing great.  She'll actually eat it so I'm pleased.

 Although most of the time I'm dealing with this:

Bib Eating

 And this:

 Spoon Grabbing

 And this:

Handsucking

Here is just a cutie picture:

Chloe playing Legos with the boys (don't faint mother - she was kept away from all actual Legos and she was not left unattended next to small Lego parts.  No choking hazards!)

Kisses and Cuddles

Alright moms of boys...when do your little boys stop wanting to cuddle and have kisses?  Carson's independence grows stronger everyday and it hit me the other day that I may only have a few years left.  I don't know as I never had brothers.

Carson has always been independent.  He was the type to run into nursery at 18 months without even saying goodbye to me.  He tackles new situations with very little trepidation.  He must get this from his dad because I was terrified of unfamiliar settings as a child.  After his first week of preschool he informed me that he didn't need me to walk him to the door anymore.  So as the other moms walk their kids to the door, I stand by my car and watch to make sure he gets in ok and then give a wave to his teacher.  After a few more weeks he told me he didn't need a goodbye kiss anymore (although I usually say "kiss" and he does it before he realizes that he wasn't going to).

I dropped him off at the primary program practice - 100% new situation for him, and he insisted that I didn't need to get out of the car.  So I made sure he followed some other kids in and I figured he would be ok from there.

Don't get me wrong, I think his independence is extremely admirable.  I wish I had a little more confidence in new situations even now.  I am constantly impressed by this aspect of his personality.

There are still several moments a day when he wants to cuddle or lay across my lap as I scratch his back and we say silly things to each other.  He usually surprises me with an "I love you" when I'm feeling down (or grouchy).  He is very sweet.

So how many more years do I have of cuddles with my son?  And then after that I guess you find a new way to connect and let your son know you love him.

Indian John

Carson has become quite sensitive to us laughing at the things he does or says.  While we laugh because we think he is cute, he gets embarrassed and upset.  So we try and hold it in.  It's a really hard habit to break.  Especially when he comes into the room and tells me he is Indian John and that he has a wacker.  (Translation: he is Indiana Jones and he has a whip).

Happy Halloween!

We've had quite a fun week. We went to the fair on Wednesday.  This was my first time in Phoenix.  It's also probably been 10 years since I've been to any fair.  We went Wednesday morning.  Got in free with a donation and got $2 rides and games.  It was smaller than the fairs I'm used to in Washington, but still fun.  Carson refused to go on any rides (after we bought $20 in tickets).  So we saw the animals and ate lunch (more on that later), then I went on a ride (a crazy, whip you around, up side down kind of ride).  After that, Carson was much more willing to go on a few rides.  He did the giant slide first - I was shocked he went through with it once he was at the top.  He ran towards me when he was down yelling "Mom, I was brave!"  Then he did a few other little kid rides.  He really liked the little kid roller coaster.  We played a few games, he got a few stuffed animals as prizes and then we headed out.  On the way home Carson said "I was really scared.  Then my brain said in a quiet voice 'you will be brave.'" (he whispered that part).  It was pretty darn cute.

So - next year, we are NOT eating lunch/treats at the fair.  $45 and gross, crappy food.  Next year we'll eat lunch before and then just get a treat at the fair (funnel cake?  yes please!).  What did Chloe do you ask?  Sleep - almost the entire time.  She was very agreeable.

Chloe rolled over for the first time on Thursday.  She hates being on her stomach and immediately starts yelling, but she just keeps doing it.  She has also taken a few real naps for me the last few days.

Karl and I went to a Halloween party.  We were Waldo and Wenda.  This is the first time we have ever dressed up since we got married.  For Karl, it's been almost 20 years since the last time he dressed up.  The party was fun...another set of Waldo's showed up though...bummer.  I taped and then painted our shirts.  At first I used a fabric spray paint, but one can only did the front of one shirt and it also bled (sorry Karl).  So then I switched to Acrylic with a fabric paint medium added.  Way better.  Carson really liked wearing my Waldo accessories.

We had our ward trunk or treat last night.  Carson ran around crazy with the other kids.  Chloe chilled in the stroller.  Both looked pretty cute.  I made Carson's cape a while ago.  Then I bought him a black shirt and pants, the mask and belt.  I made Chloe a tutu skirt and died one of her onesies orange.  Then I made her a curly hair bow (cork screw I think it's called?).  We also carved pumpkins last night.

Chloe's Room

Here are some pics of Chloe's room.  I know it's not Martha Stewart level, but I think it's cute.  I am especially proud of my tree - which I drew and then painted free hand.  I am not very artsy able so I was amazed that it didn't end up looking ridiculous.

2 Months (plus a little)

Chloe hit her two month mark a week or so ago...I just haven't gotten around to blogging it.  Her weight was 15 lbs 13 oz, height was 25 1/4 inches.  Both were off the charts again.  They are following the normal curve though, just above.  She is quite chunky, just the way I like 'em.  She is already wearing 9 month clothing.  I can't get her 6 month onesies to snap anymore, she can't straighten her legs in the 6 month sleepers, and all her little 6 months shorts are either too tight around the belly or too tight on her thighs.  So... 9 month clothes for my 2 month old it is.  She still isn't sleeping through the night and she just takes cat naps all day.  Other than that, she is just doing the normal cute baby stuff - gurgling, cooing, smiling.  While Carson used to start kicking crazy and get all excited in the bath, she seems to completely relax and just smile at nothing.  Oh - and her favorite new thing to do is grab whatever she can (blanket, burp cloth, dress, shirt) and pull it up to her face and then chew on it.  I'm constantly pulling her shirts down and trying to replace it with a toy.  See pic below.